FAQs

Are you looking for a translation or interpretation professional? Our associate and certified members are professionals who adhere to the highest industry standards and are organized in our online directory so you can contact them and explain your needs directly.

Before you get started with your search, you may have some questions about how all of this works. Click on the question below to take you to the corresponding answer. If you have a question that you cannot find the answer to here,contact ATIA today

Frequently Asked Questions

Certified members of ATIA – whether interpreters or translators – go through a rigorous examinations or admissions process which involves assessing their specialized training, skills, and experience according to national standards or through expert peer review. Additionally, all certified ATIA members are bound by the Association’s Code of Ethics which protects both the professionals and you, the client. Simply put, the quality of work from certified members of ATIA and the peace of mind offered our exceptional standards is unparalleled.

A translator is a professional who translates written materials from one language into another while maintaining the style and meaning of the original work. If you require written documents of any kind to be transferred between languages, you require a translator.

An interpreter is responsible for enabling two or more people with very different backgrounds, perceptions and languages to orally communicate to their mutual satisfaction. If you need spoken words transferred between languages in virtually any setting, you require an interpreter. Interpreters cannot translate your documents unless they are also translators and translators cannot interpret for you unless they are also interpreters.

Associate translators and Interpreters have passed ATIA's Code of Ethics exam and all other requirements to be admitted as associate members. They are accumulating experience in order to write the certification examination or submit a portfolio for review. Certified Translators and Interpreters of ATIA start as Associate members; then they pass the examinations, or a portfolio review, to become certified. Some Certified members obtained their title through another provincial sister association in Canada.

You may have realized you need an interpreter – someone who delivers, as faithfully as possible, oral messages transmitted between persons who do not speak the same language. This can take place in a variety of settings. It is important that you hire an interpreter who is a specialist in the area you require. A community interpreter provides these services in a diverse range of educational, social and community service settings. A court interpreter is a professional who plays an essential role in civil society, by enabling people with limited knowledge of languages spoken in legal and other administrative tribunals to participate in court and other legal proceedings. A medical interpreter is a professional who facilitates communication between patients and their physicians, nurses, lab technicians and other healthcare providers. A conference interpreter conveys the meaning of a speaker's message from one language into another in academic, governmental and organizational settings.

Each professional sets their own rates. It depends on such factors as the services provided, the complexity of the task, and timing. Always explain in detail the type of services you need, the requirements you must meet, and any information that may be important for the professional to provide you with an accurate cost and delivery time.

Don’t worry. Just because our directory does not have a professional in that language combination does not mean that you will be unable to obtain the services you require. As a provincial association, ATIA is affiliated with other provincial sister organizations under one national umbrella where the same standards and ethics can be found. Click here to search their directories for professionals in your language combination.

Not a problem! In the past, our members with different language combinations have successfully worked together in multi-lingual projects for one sole client. It is also possible for in-house translators to work directly with our members as well, without needing an intermediary agency.

Yes, and you are in the correct place. Only a professional certified translator can provide a certified translation of a document. Certification involves preparing an official signed translator’s declaration and rubber-stamping or embossing each page of the document with the translator's professional seal as a guarantee of quality.
Please note that if you require a translation of your passport, it must be certified.

Yes. When you contact your translator, let them know that you need your translations notarized. Any translator can provide a notarized translation. The only official aspect in the process is that the translator swears an oath and signs an affidavit before a notary who simply affirms that the translator has given their word that the translation is a true representation of the original without assessing the quality of the work. If you need to provide a certified true copy of a document, you will need to use a Notary Public/Lawyer.

ATIA is an association that elevates the professions of interpreting and translating in the province of Alberta by applying high standards of national certification and implementing a rigorous Code of Ethics. You can contact a Certified Translator directly from ATIA’s directory, free-of-charge and without using an intermediary translation agency. Translation agencies are businesses that offer translation services in many language combinations, working as intermediaries between the client (you) and the translator and charging you an additional fee for their services. They do not always work with certified translators. If you decide to work with a translation agency, make sure to ask for your documents to be translated by an ATIA-Certified Translator, in order to guarantee quality and confidentiality.

All of ATIA’s members are bound by a Code of Ethics that protects your confidentiality. In the unlikely event that a member violates ATIA’s Code of Ethics, the appropriate protocol will be followed to ensure adequate disciplinary action is taken.